An NBA fan suffered a bizarre and unfortunate injury during an in-game challenge on Tuesday.
During a break in the action of last night’s game between the Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers at State Farm Arena, two fans took the floor to participate in a basketball version of Tic-Tac-Toe. The game was simple enough, but as one contestant went in for his first layup attempt, his left knee gave out and he hit the deck hard.
The other player continued playing, but it was clear that the injured fan was in some serious discomfort. Medics came out to attend to the Hawks fan, who was eventually stretchered off the court.
The actual NBA game was delayed as this all unfolded, with some Atlanta and Portland hoopers watching in shock.
We don’t have an official update on the fan’s condition, but that looked like a possibly serious knee injury. Hopefully it looked worse than it actually was.
In the actual game action, the Blazers turned a 57-54 halftime lead into a 127-113 victory over the hosting Hawks. Deni Avdija registered a triple-double, posting 32 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, while Shaedon Sharpe added 33 points and 10 rebounds.
Trae Young (29 points, 15 assists) and Dyson Daniels (22 points, 10 rebounds) turned in double-doubles in defeat.
“I just think we played too slow,” Young said postgame. “I think you gotta give them credit. They, they kind of slowed us down by picking me up full and not kind of letting us get out in transition. Anytime we did, we were able to score easy. Anytime we played fast, we were able to score easy.”
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